Shiva Basket, Sympathy Gift Baskets

Often when we are confronted with death we do not have the words to offer comfort to our friends. It can be hard to find the words to show your sympathy or to tell your friend we are thinking of them in this hard time. We want to help them through this difficult time but often we do not know how to help.

In Judaism, food plays a central role in everyday life. We celebrate life with food, all the Jewish festivals with food and in death, we also offer comfort with food. It has a way of showing empathy or compassion when a friend has lost their loved one. Following the funeral, the family will sit shiva for seven days. Hence, the word shiva from seven. During this time, the family does not partake of the basic functions of daily life such as preparing food or showering. The extended family will sit shiva together in one house and this house will be the focal point where friends come to visit and offer condolences. The community will rally together around the bereaved family to look after its basic needs such as food and offering any help that it can. Generally the help that is most offered is that of food in the form of condolence baskets. We give food that is nourishing and comforting. With the extended family all staying under one roof during this time there are many people coming and going and food needs to be on hand and available at all times.
However sometimes there are occasions whereby one cannot always visit the bereaved family and we have the option of sending a condolence basket to the family instead. This way the family will know we are thinking of them and wish that we can be there to comfort them and be there for them to offer support.